


The Perilous Plight of Pandora

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventures That Don't Go To Plan, Archway, Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries, F/F, Family Reunions, Gcgraywriter is the Best, Golden Trio, Implied Drarry, Implied Krumione, Implied Linny, Luna is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to the Potterverse, M/M, Ministry of Magic, Old magics and curse jars, Pandora Mythology, Pandora's Box, Sirius Black's Untimely Demise, Summoning Rituals, Sweet Fluffy Reunion, That Flighty Temptress Adventure, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, Unspeakables, VEIL, Word Limits Are the Bane of my Existence, auror!Harry, happily ever after but not the one you were hoping for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25126285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Head Auror Harry Potter just wanted to go home. It was nearly 5 o'clock on a Friday after all. But a strange singularity in the Death Chamber presents him with the possibility of getting his godfather back. However, sometimes fate has other plans... After all, what's one more adventure?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7
Collections: Flighty Temptress





	The Perilous Plight of Pandora

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: the characters do not belong to me but are the property of J.K.R and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended. I make no profit from these works. All stories are for fun and entertainment only. Many thanks to my friend and beta Gcgraywriter for her time and help.
> 
> I welcome reviews/comments of people who enjoy my works, but am also happy to consider a thoughtful review of my work, even if it includes constructive criticism. 
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you enjoy it.

Harry Potter gave the interdepartmental memo that landed on his desk a withering look, disappointed when it didn’t burst into flames from the sheer intensity of the glare he’d given it. Sighing, he tapped it with his wand, skimming the message it contained.

_Dear Head Auror Potter,_

_Powerful magical disturbances registered, increasing in intensity._

_Believed to be connected to the work of witches or wizards unknown._

_Kindly report to Unspeakable Goldstein for a full briefing._

_Kind Regards,_

_Anita Ogden_

_Department of Mysteries_

Harry scrunched the memo into a ball, annoyed. He checked his watch and sighed. It was quarter to five on a Friday. He wanted to go _home,_ not walk all the way down to the Department of Mysteries for a briefing that was a) likely a waste of time and b) would mean that he worked late _again._ Draco was getting sick of waiting up late for him every night and to be honest, Harry was sick of it too. But the name of the department that had sent the memo piqued his curiosity. The Department of Mysteries… this was obviously something outside the norm. 

He usually dealt with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement who would assign cases to the Auror Offices as they came up. It was highly unusual for an Auror to have anything to do with the Department of Mysteries. He rolled his neck as he got to his feet, sighing when he felt that satisfying _pop._ Harry frowned thoughtfully as he headed to the lift. The truth was he much preferred it when his job was an easy nine til five, run of the mill workday. He wasn’t sure he was up for another adventure.

Harry stepped into the life, retreating into a back corner and tapping his foot impatiently as inter-departmental memos circled overhead.

“ _Level Nine: Department of Mysteries,”_ the automated voice announced pleasantly.

Harry exited the lift, determined to make this quick, whatever it was about.

“Anthony,” he exclaimed, greeting the Unspeakable and former classmate of his with a tired smile and firm handshake.

“Potter. Good to see you,” Anthony replied, returning the handshake warmly. “Thanks for coming down so quickly. I know it’s probably the last place you want to be, especially after what happened here in fifth year.”

Harry grimaced, deciding to play it off as light-heartedly as he could manage. “As long as we’re not holding the briefing in the Death Chamber.” He said with an uneasy chuckle.

Anthony stared. “Well, now you mention it…” he said awkwardly.

“You’re _kidding,_ ” Harry said with a groan.

“We never kid about the Death Chamber,” Anthony said grimly. “Just _come._ I promise I’ll make it as quick and painless as I can.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Harry said with a sigh, following him reluctantly.

A few minutes later, they entered the room Harry remembered so well. It remained unchanged, the same stone steps set in levels that led down to an ancient stone dais, on which an archway sat, the same tattered black veil waving ever so slightly.

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat. This was where Sirius had died, he could still recall every detail of that day in his mind. He had _never_ stopped torturing himself over it. His own naivety and recklessness had cost him his godfather. Bellatrix and Lord Voldemort had played their parts in it too, there was no denying that. But Harry had never been able to escape his own culpability in Sirius’s demise either.

“Harry? You with us?” A voice called, echoing slightly in the chamber.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear the memories. He’d been so distracted by the onslaught of painful flashbacks that he had failed to register that he and Anthony were not alone in the room.

The faces of his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger appeared before him. Or Hermione _Krum,_ after her wedding last autumn, he corrected himself.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked, surprised.

Ron and Hermione rose from where they’d been sitting together on the steps and greeted Harry affectionately.

“I asked them to come,” Anthony admitted.

“How is some magical disturbance anything to do with them?” Harry asked, confused. Ron ran a joke shop with George and Hermione was a Wizengamot Supreme Court Justice. Unless it was a marketable joke or a breach of wizarding law, it was neither of their areas of expertise. 

“I thought you’d need moral support,” Anthony said awkwardly. “What I’m going to ask of you… you won’t like it.” 

Harry looked at him, scrutinising his face, but his expression was unreadable. He supposed he could thank Anthony’s last few years of training as an Unspeakable for that. 

“What do y--” Harry’s question was cut off by something that made any explanation unnecessary and sent them all diving for cover. A gale-force wind ripped through the archway and filled the room, the tattered veil billowing, great stone steps cracking beneath them as a chilling voice permeated the room. 

“ _Claudere arca archa… Claudere arca archa...Claudere arca archa…”_ It whispered, the wind seeming to increase in force with every word before Anthony scrambled to his feet. 

“ _Duro!”_ He cried, sealing the archway, the veil turning to stone. “That should hold it for now, but it’s not permanent I’m afraid,” he said apologetically as the Golden Trio climbed to their feet. 

“What the hell was that?” Ron Weasley demanded, his blue eyes wide. 

“We don’t know,” Anthony answered. “That archway wasn’t created with that kind of power. We think it has something to do with who went through the archway last. Something is in there. Something that doesn’t belong.”

“Something that wants to come out,” Hermione said with a shiver. “Why has it taken this long to report this? What do the words mean?”

“We think it started when Sirius Black went through the archway years ago, but it went unnoticed because of the war and Voldemort’s takeover of the Ministry. The Department has only been fully operational again in the last six months, thanks to Minister Shacklebolt’s overhaul of the Ministry,” Anthony explained.

“And the words?” Hermione prompted him.

“They’re Latin. The department linguist says they translate to ‘close the box.’ Whatever that means.” Anthony said with a shrug.

“You said, the last person who went through…” Harry said slowly. “You think it’s Sirius?” he said hopefully. 

“Could be. Or it could be something else. Either way, if we got Black’s body out, whatever is in there would probably tie itself to him to get out of limbo,” Anthony said cautiously. 

“What do you need me for?” Harry asked uncertainly. 

Anthony stared long and hard at him before replying. “My department head wants whatever is causing the singularity extracted. That would require a summoning ritual. And a summoning ritual would require--”

“Familial blood,” Hermione supplied as Anthony nodded. 

“But all of Sirius’s family are dead. He was the last Black. He said so often enough,” Ron interjected. 

“We don’t need a Black,” Harry realised. “We need a _Malfoy._ Narcissa and Draco were cousins of Sirius. _That’s_ what you need me for. You want me to convince Draco or his mother to help.” He was pretty sure he knew how that conversation would go. 

* * *

When Harry and Draco showed up at the Department of Mysteries together a few days later, Anthony didn’t dare ask what tactics Harry had resorted to in order to get his boyfriend to agree to donate his blood for the ritual. Though he could hazard a guess at the price of the agreement, judging from the hickeys on Harry’s throat. 

“Are you ready for this?” Draco asked Harry quietly. They were standing opposite the archway in the Chamber of Death with Anthony, Ron and Hermione. 

“No,” Harry admitted honestly. “But if it _is_ him, I have to try.” 

“And if it isn’t?” Draco said worriedly. The odds were much higher that something worse than Sirius Black was going to come flying out of the archway when they began the ritual. 

“Then we’ll deal with it,” Harry promised. 

“Draco, blood in the basin, please,” Anthony called and the Malfoy heir grimaced. 

“ _Diffindo,”_ Draco muttered, slicing open his palm and dripping his blood into the bronze basin. 

“This better work,” Draco complained, sealing the deep cut he’d made in his hand.

“It will,” Harry said confidently, watching Anthony fling the contents of the basin onto the sheer material of the veil and begin to chant. 

“ _Sanguis sanguinem meum… canem stella… revenite,”_ he cried, waving his wand in a circular motion and directing it at the Veil, which suddenly glowed gold. 

Bright light filled the room, blinding them, as a gust of wind blasted them all off their feet. 

Harry was the first to scramble to his feet in the aftermath of Anthony’s ritual, and climbed up onto the stone dais, looking into the unconscious face of his godfather. 

“Sirius?” He whispered, shaking him. 

The man stirred and opened his eyes. “Not Sirius,” he croaked, sitting up and looked around dazedly. 

“Then, who are you?” Harry asked, disappointed, and drawing his wand just in case. 

“Pandora,” came the reply. 

“Pandora Lovegood?” Harry asked. “Luna's mother?”

“I was once. Before that, I was Pandora of Olympus. The gods themselves crafted me. Pandora the All Gifted, they named me. Or, that flighty temptress, Adventure. My great love used to call me that,” she added thoughtfully. 

“You’re a-- a god?” Draco said, edging closer.

“ _Goddess._ I was. But one of my gifts was a jar, a _box,_ the mortals termed it, filled with burdensome toil, sickness that brings death to men, diseases and a myriad other pains… I foolishly opened the jar and unleashed these curses upon the world.” She admitted sadly. 

“But, you married Luna’s father, Xenophilius.” Harry said slowly. 

Pandora nodded. “I took a mortal form as my punishment and married a kind man, before I gave birth to a child of the moon. My Luna. The last of the true fae. She was my gift to the world for the pain I had brought. She was blessed with the Sight and a compassionate heart for all,” she mused. 

“But Luna saw you die. She can see Thestrals,” Hermione pointed out. 

“I did die, I think. Or my mortal form did. I was blasted from it when I tried to return the curse to the jar. I felt great remorse for the pain I had brought, especially to your family,” she said, turning grey eyes on Harry. “I tried to undo it, but the old magics were too strong. I was ripped apart.” 

Harry paused thoughtfully. This wasn’t what he had expected, but he had to know. 

“Mrs-- umm Pandora? Is my godfather, is Sirius still in there?” He asked desperately. 

“No,” she replied softly. “He went on to the next world... You miss him very much.” 

“I do,” Harry admitted with a sigh. Having Sirius back would have been something akin to having his parents back. But maybe someone _could_ have a parent back. 

“Would you like to see Luna?” Harry asked.

Pandora visibly hesitated. “Will she want to see me?” she asked doubtfully. “My last adventure didn’t quite go to plan.”

“Nothing ever does,” Harry said with a little smile. 

* * *

“Luna, someone here to see you,” Harry called through the Snorkack Shack, Ginny and Luna’s new cottage they had bought together. 

“Mum,” Luna murmured wonderingly, her pale blue eyes misting with tears. “I knew you’d come back,” she added softly. 

“Things always do in the end,” Pandora said, taking Luna in her arms and cradling her against her chest.

“If not always in the way we expect,” Luna finished with a knowing smile. 


End file.
